Ghost Town opens for season, draws a crowd

After passing state inspections, Ghost Town in the Sky opened for the season on the Fourth of the July. The Maggie Valley amusement park — open Friday through Monday — is reporting an opening weekend attendance total of more than 7,500.

Odum said opening day’s attendance was 2,000 people. Each following day saw 1,800 people visit Ghost Town.

“We’re just slammed, it’s going bonkers,” Odum said. “Alaska initially expected 500 people on the first day and obviously that got blown out of the water.”

Alaska Presley, who purchased the park for $1.5 million at auction in 2012, has been attempting to bring the aging park — a big Western-themed draw in its 1960s and 70s heyday — back from the brink, but has experienced hurdles in the form of failed inspections, limited attractions and delayed openings. This year the park’s originally slated June 20 opening date was pushed back due to a delayed waterline expansion project and a washed-out evacuation road that needed repairing.

After completing a waterline-expansion project this year that provides service to the multiple levels of the mountain-side park and repairing the washed-out road, Ghost Town passed state inspections on July 3, opening for the season the next day.